Perhaps because he was becoming more proficient, Natsuo's writing flowed effortlessly. Without any pauses, he finally completed the first volume on Sunday.
After all, he didn't need to conceive the plot, and excellent phrasing and word choice came naturally. Immersed in the work, writing fifty thousand characters a day was achievable.
His typing speed wasn't slow either.
With the first volume finished, he could now submit it to the three major light novel publishing houses. If an editor was impressed, they could immediately arrange an illustrator and a publication schedule.
Of course, Natsuo could also serialize it online to build hype and fame, but that would take too long to generate income.
His current financial situation didn't allow for that delay.
If the book could be published directly, even with a small initial print run of just two or three thousand copies, the royalties would still be substantial.
He believed that if the editors had any foresight, the initial print run of the novel he was adapting would not be small.
Moreover, Natsuo was confident that the novel he was borrowing from would become famous. Once successfully published, it would definitely be a massive hit.
A second print run would be easy.
Unless, of course, the editors were truly blind.
However, there was one issue with the submission process: he couldn't just send it online. He had to print it out and submit the manuscript directly to the publishing house.
Such an archaic method.
Fortunately, he had checked the addresses of the three major publishing houses, and the one he chose wasn't far away—just a fifteen-minute train ride.
He could go after school tomorrow.
Since he hadn't joined any clubs, he had plenty of time after classes.
Having decided on his plan for tomorrow, Natsuo transferred the first volume of KonoSuba (tentative name) onto a USB drive. He then changed into his going-out clothes, ready to head to the supermarket for a bento.
After working hard all day, his stomach started rumbling the moment he took a break.
He hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch.
Natsuo decided to buy two bentos to reward himself, considering it a pre-celebration for his novel's acceptance.
Leaving his apartment, Natsuo glanced at his neighbor's doorplate—Shiina.
Since this "Shiina" is here, I wonder if that other "Shiina" is too? He was becoming more and more excited about life in this world.
At the supermarket, Natsuo didn't see the flaxen-haired figure. It seemed they wouldn't cross paths tonight.
Since there was no eel bento today, Natsuo picked out a fried chicken bento and a chashu pork bento, bought a bottle of soda, and went straight home.
Back home, after eating his fill and taking a hot bath, Natsuo changed into his pajamas and quickly fell asleep.
Who will it be tonight?
...
Natsuo woke up to the morning light streaming through the window. He sat up, yawned, and realized he had been asleep all night.
Last night, he hadn't gone back to that strange place. He had slept until dawn.
Can the "World" possibly have rest days?
Or perhaps, there were simply no "intruders" last night?
No invaders would be good. It meant the world wasn't severely corrupted yet.
While Natsuo wanted to keep gaining special abilities or attributes, what he truly hoped for was the world's safety.
The "World" wasn't communicating—perhaps it couldn't—but regardless, Natsuo didn't know if the intrusion posed other dangers.
Stability is best.
Monday Morning Confession
Natsuo got up, washed up, changed into his school uniform, and grabbed his satchel, heading out for school.
He quite liked the uniform: a white dress shirt beneath a black lapel blazer. It fit him well.
The uniform was sent to him after his "entrance exam." Since it wasn't custom-made, they had various sizes available. As the Kyōshū Bunbu High School uniform was standard across all three grades, the school, which wasn't new, surely had plenty of spares.
It's all part of the set-up. The World is the World; arranging these things is effortless for It.
Natsuo was currently about 170 cm tall. He wasn't sure if he would grow taller.
Although he was sixteen, he was back in his youth, and his height was roughly the same as his original adult height.
He personally hoped to grow a bit more.
All the way to school, Natsuo didn't see the flaxen-haired figure, likely because he was still arriving early.
He didn't see any other students on the way either.
Entering the campus, Natsuo's mindset was different this time. Before, he was indifferent, but now he was full of anticipation.
There were quite a few people who arrived as early as him. Natsuo walked slowly but still didn't see anyone who caught his attention.
Entering the teaching building and changing into his indoor shoes at the designated area, Natsuo headed toward his classroom.
When he reached the door, he glanced inside and was surprised.
There was a light-brown figure already inside.
Is she an early bird? (Referring to Yui Yuigahama)
Natsuo entered the classroom and looked toward her. Their eyes met briefly.
The girl immediately broke eye contact as if she were a startled small animal, shrinking back and lowering her head.
Natsuo found this amusing. He walked past the light-brown figure and went to his seat.
He sat down, put down his bag, and openly stared at Yui Yuigahama.
Since they were the only two people in the classroom, he could stare without reservation.
"Um..." Yui Yuigahama seemed unable to handle his gaze, weakly turning her head to look at him.
"Yuigahama-san, is something wrong?" Natsuo asked.
"Natsu-kun, yesterday... no, the night before last..." Yui Yuigahama trailed off, hesitating.
"The night before last? What about it?" Natsuo looked at her with a blank expression.
"Eh?" Yui Yuigahama's eyes widened, completely stunned.
Natsuo's demeanor made her heart pound, and she didn't dare to ask the question.
After all, whether the events of that night were a dream or not was still debatable. If it truly was a dream, and she brought it up unprompted to someone she had just met, how was that different from a confession?
"Hahaha!" Natsuo burst out laughing.
"Natsu-kun?"
"Sorry, I won't tease you anymore."
"Tease me...?"
"Yes. Yuigahama-san's expression just now was so priceless, I couldn't help but want to tease you a bit. My apologies," Natsuo explained, clasping his hands together in an apology.
"So, the way you were acting just now, you were lying to me?" Yui Yuigahama realized.
"Yes, I sincerely apologize."
"Natsu-kun, that's mean!" Yui Yuigahama immediately puffed out her cheeks, glaring at him in dissatisfaction.
"I'm sorry," Natsuo apologized again, his attitude earnest.
"That's really mean! I was so scared just now, thinking it really was just a dream," Yui Yuigahama clutched her chest, letting out a sigh of relief.
She had come to school early specifically to confirm the reality of that night with Natsuo. Although it was incredible, she didn't want it to be a dream.
It had been a very fantastical experience. Although brief, and she hadn't done much, the feeling was far better than the helplessness she felt in reality.
If it had been a dream, she would have had to admit she was trying to escape reality.
"Yuigahama-san, you didn't want it to be a dream?" Natsuo noticed her thoughts.
"...Yeah," Yui Yuigahama hesitated, then nodded in admission.
"Why?" Natsuo pressed.
"I don't know... maybe it was just too fantastical."
"Fantastical, huh?"
Natsuo looked at Yui Yuigahama's conflicted expression, vaguely guessing that perhaps her life in reality had left her feeling weary.
"That place isn't a good one, though. It's very dangerous."
"It really is dangerous! What exactly was that Slime? What kind of place was that? Why did we end up there?" Yui Yuigahama excitedly leaned closer to Natsuo, asking curiously.
Natsuo could smell the scent of shampoo wafting from her hair—a very clean, refreshing scent.
"I don't know either."
"But Natsu-kun, you seemed to know quite a lot about it."
"I've only been there twice, so I have some experience."